I will admit that I was a bit skeptical about esports. For me, “sports” has always conjured images of cleats, grass stains, and the pungent aroma of Bengay. And this from someone whose sole forays into competitive athletics were indoors (junior high basketball and collegiate fencing). But some reading and conversations have turned me around. Esports is projected to exceed $282 million in U.S. market value this year, and globally to hit about $5.75 billion. So for now, let’s park the question of whether esports is “sports” and instead ask whether online multi-player gaming is ripe for greater rural interest.
Let’s start with three threshold questions:
- Does esports lead to higher subscribership rates and larger broadband service sales?
- Does esports provide an opportunity for positive PR and intangible goodwill?
- Does esports offer access to a pool of tech savvy purchasers and prospective workers?
Calls with esports experts and members of NTCA’s Innovation and Business Opportunity Committee indicate that all questions can be answered with a resounding “Yes.”
To be sure, selling esports to local schools can be difficult. Many schools are famously fighting budget cuts and facing hard choices when it comes to supporting organized athletics, music, and the arts. But in reality, esports is fundamentally no different than other extracurricular activities that encourage team building, problem solving, and collaboration. Add the technology component and you have defined core competencies, including much sought-after soft skills, demanded by an expanding rural broadband market.
Moreover, esports and the largely virtual nature of it breaks through geographic barriers by enabling participants across the country (and indeed the globe) to form teams. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reports that 43% of gamers play with “online only” friends. Esports can also dissolve other barriers, as well, that can otherwise if even unintentionally stand in the way of forming social bonds – race, income, ethnicity, sex. ESA reports a nearly even split between men and women engaging video games (52%/48%), with an average age of 33 years old. And if there is an impression that older players are sequestered in lonely remote basements, it is worth noting that MTA Solutions (Palmer, Alaska) provides internet service capability to Eielson Air Force Base, powering Nightwatch, a gaming community for airmen (see video here). Nightwatch was pioneered by Alex Medvedev, a veteran and MTA employee. And there is the Gigazone Gaming Championship hosted by Paul Bunyan Communications (Bemidji, Minn.). In sum, esports is not just for kids (though high school esports is a growing field); it builds skills; and it creates communities across the distance.
And so having explained some general benefits of esports, let’s return to the three questions above of what it offers to rural broadband providers.
- Esports requires high bandwidth connections like those provided by locally operated rural ISPs. One rural broadband provided noted that its broadband subscriptions increased at faster rate than local population growth. Esports participation can not only encourage new service subscriptions but also upgrades of existing accounts.
- Word-of-mouth advertising can be more valuable than traditional media. The general public might not immediately grasp speed and latency, but when gamers say a network is good, people listen. MTA reports five to seven additional media pickups each year, plus speaking opportunities and national awards, all leading to increased brand awareness and user satisfaction.
- Rural providers report successful recruitment from gamers to fill tech positions. Compare your office workstation to a modded game station. The community is tech savvy (and purchase-ready). Paul Bunyan Communications is collocating TechXpo to its gaming championship to demonstrate how gamers can leverage their technical skills and enthusiasm into successful careers.
Esports might not cause the sorts of strains and sprains commonly associated with field athletics. But if we step back and view it within the larger context of why teams are built and the benefits that come from those experiences, then opportunities offered by esports for rural providers become clear.
For more information, please visit National Esports Association and Wisconsin High School Esports Association.